May 10, 2008
Cuisine: Vietnamese
253 Khanh Hoi Street
District 4, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone 8264381
Website: none
—
Canh Khoai Mo
Bo Xao Bong He
Com Tam Bi Cha
—
I’ve written about the ins and outs of com tam on countless occasions here on gas•tron•o•my, so to keep things fresh, I’ll stick to the new stuff.
Cơm Tấm Dì Năm is an eatery specializing in com tam in District 4. It’s open from 4 AM to 10 PM everyday. The Astronomer and I dropped in a couple of Saturdays ago for lunch because after ten months of saying to myself, “I’ve got to try that place out,” timing was finally on our side. Or something like that…
I went for the com tam bi cha because it’s one of my all-time favorites. This version did not disappoint, well, except for the unavailability of op la (fried sunny-side up egg), but I got over that pretty quickly because everything else was solid.
The Astronomer was in a beefy mood and ordered beef sauteed with chive flowers. The ratio of meat to greens was skewed toward the blossoms, but Astro-man just pushed the extras aside and did what he does best.
And speaking of chives, wanna here a funny story?
Of course you do!
Back in San Diego, chives grow in front of the Nordstrom Rack at Mission Valley mall. Whenever my mom and I go shopping, she always handpicks the chives and brings them home to make hu tieu xao. Ghetto, right? I’m always so embarrassed by her deviant actions, but I have no shame eating the delicious end product.
Okay, back to Cơm Tấm Dì Năm!
After I finished my com tam, I ordered a bowl of canh khoai mo. I’ve encountered khoai mo at the markets, but never in a restaurant. The lavender soup was mild (in a good way) and had little bits of yam. Definitely very soothing and hearty. Must try again.
Heh, love your Nordstrom story. Remind me of my mom and the “You know you’re Vietnamese when…” list (don’t tell me you haven’t seen it)
i think this is right next to VUS where i work. the food here is pretty good. one time i was about to walk in, and they were nuking the place with bug spray. i decided to eat there another day. lol. actually the first time i ate here, i was charged like 30 thousand for one dish and i told the lady it was crazy expensive and she barked at me that it wasnt expensive. the next time i went, i ate the same thing and magically it was 10 thousand.
Haha, the same thing happens to me when my aunt told me to go pick some greens in the parking lots of our apartment complex five or six years ago. I said yes and then just didnt do it because it was ghetto. Thanks god, she forgot about it next day lol.
N – I haven’t seen it, but it sounds hilarious. Send the link?
Dave – I hate it when that happens! I’m glad they treated you right the second time around. Poor Ong Tays in Saigon.
Tuan – Haha! Swallow your pride. Go pick the greens!
There are a few versions of that list floating around, but they’re only slightly different. It’s hilarious.
One here:
http://www.asianjoke.com/Vietnamese/you_know_you_are_vietnamese.htm
Enjoy!
Love the Nordstrom’s tale. That’s not ghetto, that real down home rice paddy Vietnamese. Just proves that you can take the girl out of the rice paddy, but you’ll never get the rice paddy out of the girl. And thank the Heavens for that!
Haha! The funny thing is that my mom’s a city girl from Saigon. You can take the girl out of Vietnam but not the Vietnam out of the girl!
heehee, very cute! I’m enough of a city girl to be put off by the idea that someone may have pissed on things so I don’t generally pluck foodstuffs out in the wild so to speak…
Foodhoe! I didn’t even THINK of that possibility. San Diegans DO like to take their dogs to the mall… Hmm…